


Just Breath

by joyfulsongbird



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M, eurydice helps him through it, orpheus has a panic attack, warnings: a panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21619132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyfulsongbird/pseuds/joyfulsongbird
Summary: Orpheus gets a panic attack at work and disappears, Eurydice notices his absence and goes looking for him. She finds him and consoles and helps him through it.***warning for a panic attack, do what's best for you!
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 62





	Just Breath

the bar is crowded during the summer, sometimes so crowded that she loses sight of her husband in the mix of noise and bodies. she has to focus on handing out drinks and taking orders and making cocktails and brushing off flirts. that part has gotten easier since getting a wedding band, men don’t usually like to go after married girls, but there are exceptions. tonight, she’s simply focusing on making it to the end of her shift and surviving the overwhelming attack of sensations. the humidity, the clashing of voices and clinking of cups, every sense being used all at once.

she finally has a moment to look up when she was wiping the sweat off of her face with a cloth, she narrows her eyes at the stage. he’s gone. she doesn’t know how long he’s been gone or where he went but the players are still playing music, but Orpheus’ guitar sits on it’s stand, abandoned.

that’s when she starts to get worried. he would never, ever leave his guitar out by itself like that, he’s far too protective of it and worries someone will steal his prized possession. something would have to be very wrong.

she taps Hermes on the shoulder, jerking her head towards the back door. “I’m taking my break early.”

“alright, dear.” he says, turning back to the glass he’d been cleaning. she removes her apron, throwing it behind the counter. her search begins with the pantry, devoid of any sort of Orpheus shaped human. her trek moves then to the stairs to the basement, when she opens the door leading down, she notices the lights are already off. that should keep her from going down, but she does anyways. something isn’t quite right, and her worry grows every second that she doesn’t have Orpheus by her side. she wants to be able to slip her hand into his, kiss his knuckles and smile.

“Orpheus?” she calls into the dark, grappling for the lightswitch that sits on the wall. her fingers climb up the familiar wires until she finds the switch, flicking it on. the dim, golden light floods the basement, she can see the particles of dust wafting through the air, reminding her how old this building really is. she blinks at the sudden light, eyes scanning the walls lined with shelves, bottles that might even be years old coated in grime. she walks slowly down the center, looking down each small aisle. no Orpheus. her heart is beating up in her throat, she can feel it throbbing in her entire body, reverberating from top to bottom.

“Orpheus!” she catches sight of a shadow first, out of the corner of her eye, and then his body. curled close to himself, even from this small distance she can see that he’s shaking. trembling from head to toe, how is it possible to shiver that much when it’s summer time, when the warmth finally fills the air? but he is, and it’s scaring her even more.

she slides onto her knees in front of him, ignoring the burning of the pavement against her skin. now that she’s closer, she can hear his heavy breathing, sharp inhales, small exhales. it sounds like he’s suffocating on plain air, the poor soul. his chest rises and falls what seems like twice every second, she can practically feel his heart beating out of his chest in her direction.

“hey, hey, love, it’s me.” she reaches for him, gently prying his hands away from his face. he allows her to do that much, not exactly willingly, but how can he fight against it with all that is going on in his head right now? she’s seen this before, after nightmares or even in herself. the fear in his eyes she can plainly make out now. she knows the feeling all too well. can’t breath, can’t think, can barely even see straight. she presses her hand softly to his cheek, brushing under his eyes like there are tears to wipe away. though there are none, he never cries during episodes like these. it’s strange, she thinks sometimes, but who would care? he’s hurting, he’s scared, that’s what matters.

“what happened in there? can you tell me?” she brushes hair off of her forehead, tentatively searching for a fever under his clammy skin just in case. no fever, his whole body is tensed up, completely on edge, but at least he isn’t sick.

he shakes his head. “can’t… I don’t know.”

at least she knows now that he’s listening, that he can hear. “that’s fine… is it alright I hold you?”

he nods, though her body is much smaller, she gathers him up in her arms. he places his head on her shoulder, breathing in her scent sharply. calming himself with the smell of her shampoo, though he uses it too, it smells better on her, somehow. Eurydice rakes her fingers through his hair, twisting the soft bits at the nape of his neck around her pinky. his look is of fear, he smells of the bar. she hates this, she hates when he trembles, when he gets so like this that she can’t do anything to help him. she doesn’t like feeling helpless, her whole life was spent helpless and at the mercy of others, so she just wants to fix everything. but she can’t fix him, that’s what she had to learn a long time ago, is that people aren’t fixable. they are flawed and imperfect. and she loves imperfect people even more.

her imperfect Orpheus is still shaking in her arms, she leans down, pressing her lips to the top of his head. he sighs into her neck, this seems to release his entire body of whatever tension had been holding him there.

and she knows he’s out of the worst of it.

relief courses through her, he always makes it out, he has to. but it makes her relieved nonetheless to know that he’s okay, that he’s good, that he’s present and alive.

she doesn’t ask him to talk, just continues to comb through his hair and breath in a rhythm he can follow.

“it was- it was so loud.” he finally murmurs, she pauses in her rhythm of movement before resuming. “and I couldn’t take it, I just… I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t even breath. it was scary, I know it’s- I’m supposed to be used to- Eurydice, I can’t- I just-”

“shhh,” she can hear starting to wander into the realm of losing control, where he’ll start to freak out. if she stops him now, he can reconsider and catch his breath. “it’s okay to be scared. you know, I hate how loud the bar is too.”

“yeah but you don’t- don’t lose control like I do. It’s pathetic-”

“hey, hey, look at me,” she tilts her head to catch his eye. “it’s not pathetic, I swear. It’s not your fault that something involuntary happens to you. we… just have to remember to breath? just… in and out.”

“in and out.” he repeats.

“and I took my break, so we have a little time before Mister Hermes comes looking for us. he’ll probably think that we’re somewhere kissing, he doesn’t want to interrupt that.”

his nose wrinkles with his smile, she tries not to grin at the small victory.

“but the band-” he starts.

Eurydice touches his chin gently with her thumb, tracing up his jaw. “the band can do without their star for a few songs. just give yourself a minute to relax, love, you’re still shaking and you’re trying to put yourself back into your normal routine.”

Orpheus takes one of her hands in his, laces his fingers through hers and kisses their intertwined fists.

“just take a breathe, right?” he says.

“just a breathe.”


End file.
